From the Note a Symphony is Born

By: Jeb Gleason-Allured

Posted: February 2, 2010, from the February 2010 issue of GCI Magazine.

Firmenich perfumers Annie Buzantian and Harry Frémont.

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“There’s a fine line between conviction and being stubborn,” Frémont says of what he has learned. “Listening is very important. Communication is very important. You can be the best perfumer, but if you can’t communicate what you do—or understand what people are saying about your fragrance—it’s impossible. Sometimes [the client] sees something in the fragrance that you don’t because they experience the fragrance much more [fully] than we do. They’re launching one product and we’re working on [several] different ones. Their vision—even if it’s not technical—there’s always something to learn from a client or consumer wearing the fragrance and saying something about it. Our job is to interpret what is said, to find what needs to be fixed in the formula.” Buzantian adds, “[The clients] have a vision of where they want to go, and, in partnership, we are able to bring that vision to reality.”